In the wireless telecommunications field it is anticipated that there will be an ever increasing Common Control Channel (CCCH) congestion problem due to the increase of small data transmissions (SDTs) and instant message transmissions (IMTs) as a result of the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) traffic and the frequent small packet transmissions which are going to be generated by mobile stations (e.g., smart phones). Various solutions to address the CCCH congestion problem and other problems are the subject of the present invention.